Lily Allen Opens Up About “Really Bad” Eating Struggles Amid Split from ‘Stranger Things’ Star David Harbour

Lily Allen is getting candid about how her “eating problems” spiraled during her breakup with Stranger Things star David Harbour.

In a new interview with British Vogue, the 40-year-old pop star reflected on the difficult period following their February split after four years of marriage. She admitted she had trouble sleeping and eating at the time, saying, “I’ve had real problems with my food over the past few years. It got really, really, really bad.”

The “Smile” singer — who’s been sober for six years — revealed she even came close to breaking her sobriety. “The feelings of despair that I was experiencing were so strong,” she said. “The last time that I felt anything like that, drugs and alcohol were my way out, so it was excruciating to sit with those [feelings] and not use them.”

Allen has previously been open about her mental health struggles on her podcast Miss Me?, which she co-hosts with longtime friend Miquita Oliver. Back in January, she admitted she was “finding it really hard to be interested in anything” and added, “I’m just so… I’m really not in a good place. I know I’ve been talking about it for months, but I’ve been spiraling and spiraling and spiraling and it’s got out of control.”

She also revealed that she suffered a panic attack at the Miss Me? Christmas lunch and had to go home early.

During a December 2024 episode of the podcast, Allen talked about her eating difficulties over the past three years — something she hadn’t initially shared with her therapist. “I’ve been going through a tough time over the last few months and my eating has become a real issue,” she said. “It wasn’t at the top of the list of the important things that I need to talk about.”

The singer also discussed how her ADHD diagnosis in 2023 may have contributed to her struggles connecting her mind and body. “My body and my brain are two very separate things to me,” she said. “I know a lot of people feel those two things are very connected to each other but with me, it’s very different. I spend a lot of time in my head and not a lot of time thinking about my body.”

She added, “I’m not eating but I’m not hungry — I obviously am hungry but my body and my brain are so disconnected from each other that the messages of hunger are not going from my body to my brain. I’m not avoiding food, I’m just not thinking about it… my body is, like, a few steps behind me.”

Allen and Harbour tied the knot in Las Vegas in 2020 after meeting on the celebrity dating app Raya. People confirmed their separation in February, ending their four-year marriage. Allen shares two daughters — Marnie Rose, 12, and Ethel Mary, 13 — with ex-husband Sam Cooper.